Development and Implementation of PWM Control Device for Laboratory Observation of Control Possibilities in Automation Education

In this article a practical educational role of PWM control in automation laboratory is developed and described. For this purpose, an adequate electronic circuit board device (ECB) is designed and implemented. ECB design takes into account the requests for three different frequency modes and the possibility to control the output voltage on different load types. These types include active power load such as light bulb and reactive power loads such as: series connected RL load and DC motor. Possibilities of PWM control are observed through voltage and current waveform for simpler loads such as light bulb and RL load. For more complex load (DC motor) PWM control possibility is discussed through observation results of waveforms, vibration detection and speed measurements. These results are used in formulation of students' laboratory assignment with goal in understanding the design, results and capabilities of PWM control type in automation.